(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to floating towlines on docking ships. In particular, the present invention is directed to a floating towline assembly that employs towline guide clips to make the towline more accessible.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
There exists a need to facilitate the process of recovering small sea vessels onto larger host ships by way of a stern ramp. During normal recovery, the process takes a skilled boatman to navigate a small vessel up a stern ramp. The process is even more difficult at high sea states. Small vessel recovery is often facilitated by use of a floating towline that is dragged behind the ramp of the larger host ship. The towline is anchored at one end to prevent that end from moving. The other end of the towline is controlled via a winch, onboard the large host ship. As the towline is being dragged behind the ramp in a large loop, the smaller vessel will grab the towline with a hook, in a similar motion to that of a shirt hangar being hung up on a closet pole. After the hook has latched onto the towline, the winch will begin to reel in the towline, thereby pulling the smaller vessel into the larger host ship.
When the towline is being dragged from the larger host ship the impending shape of the towline must be controlled. The towline is difficult to capture with a latch hook when it takes a very acute “v” shape as it is being dragged through water. The optimum shape for a floating towline is a wide loop perpendicular to the direction that the large host ship is moving. To create the optimum shape, the towline would have to be separated before being dragged behind the host ship in the water.
One way to create the optimum shape for a towline would be to space the winch and towline anchoring mounting plate far enough apart. Forcing the winch and mounting plate for the anchor end of the towline apart, however, limits the available spacing, as well as the distance the rope could be trailed behind the host ship. Furthermore, as a smaller vessel is towed towards the host ship, the angle that the towline would pull from would grow larger in respect to the centerline of the winch, creating a less efficient system for the winch. The winch and mount plate for the anchor end of the towline therefore should be placed in the centerline of the large host ship so that the small vessel is towed directly up the ramp to maximize the efficiency of the winch. A compromise between easily grabbing the rope and maximizing winch efficiency is to temporarily create the optimum shape of a wide loop through the use of a guide and release mechanism for the towline that holds the optimum shape of the towline until a small vessel hooks the line after which the mechanism releases the towline.
Mechanisms have been created to release a towline under certain circumstances. Common applications for towline release mechanisms are in use in the fishing industry. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,223 to Spurgeon discloses a mechanism called the downrigger line tender control, wherein a line is held in a certain position, and under certain loading conditions, the line is released. In the downrigger line tender control, however, the line being held in position is not allowed to move until the outside loading conditions are presented. This mechanism is not suitable for the launch and recovery of small vessels onto larger host ships by way of a stern ramp because the towline must be capable of being reeled out while in the guided condition, to adjust the length of towline being dragged behind the larger host ship. The mechanism also attaches to another line, not a stable platform. What is needed is a guide and release mechanism for a towline that allows the towline to maintain its optimum shape to be easily hooked and maximizes winch efficiency.